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- Gosen Wakashu
Nagarete to nani tanomuran namidagawa kage miyu beku mo omōenaku ni
"In time," you say—but what are you trusting in? I hardly think your reflection will ever be seen in that River of Tears.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Nanigoto o ima wa tanoman chihayaburu kami mo tasukenu waga mi narikeri
What is there left now to trust in? Even the mighty gods, it seems, will not help me.
Gosen Wakashu - Taira no Sadafun
Chihayaburu kami mo mimi koso narenurashi samazama inoru toshi mo henureba
Even the mighty gods, it seems, have grown deaf with familiarity—you have spent so many years praying for one thing and another.
Gosen Wakashu - Ōtsubune
Uramite mo mi koso tsurakere karakoromo kite itazura ni kaesu to omoeba
Even if I reproach you, it is I who suffer, when I think how I came to you, as one puts on a fine robe, only to be sent back in vain.
Gosen Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki
Sumiyoshi no matsu ni tachiyoru shiranami no kaeru ori ni ya ne wa nakaruramu
Like the white waves that rise to the pines of Sumiyoshi and then roll back, now that I am turned away at your gate, must I too cry aloud?
Gosen Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine
Omowamu to tanomeshi koto mo aru mono o naki na o tatete tada ni wasurene
You once made me trust that you would always love me—so go on, raise a groundless rumor and simply forget me.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Kasugano no Tobuhi no nomori mishi mono o naki na to iwaba tsumi mo koso ure
The field warden at Tobuhi on Kasuga Moor saw it all—if you call it a baseless rumor, it is you who may end up in the wrong.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Wasurarete omou nageki no shigeru o ya mi o Hazukashi no mori to iuran
Forgotten, my grief has grown thick like a stand of timber—is that why it is called the Forest of Hazukashi, the forest of my shame?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Omowan to tanomeshi hito wa ari to kiku iishi koto no ha izuchi iniken
The man who made me trust he would love me always is still alive and well, I hear—so where, I wonder, have those words he spoke to me gone?
Gosen Wakashu - Ukon
Satemo nao Magaki no shima no arikereba tachiyorinu beku omōyuru kana
Even so, Magaki Isle was still left unsung—and so I feel that I might well come calling at the hedge of your house.
Gosen Wakashu - Minamoto no Kiyokage
Kore wa kaku uramidokoro mo naki mono o ushirometaku wa omowazaranan
As you can see, this letter holds nothing to resent, nothing hidden on its back—so please do not be uneasy about it.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Omoiki ya aiminu koto o itsu yori to kazou bakari ni nasan mono to wa
Did I ever imagine that our not meeting would go on so long that I would have to count back to when it began?
Gosen Wakashu - Minamoto no Saneakira
Yo no tsune no ne o shi nakaneba au koto no namida no iro mo koto ni zo arikeru
Since I do not weep aloud as ordinary people do, the tears I shed longing to meet you have taken on a color all their own.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Harumasa
Shiranami no yosuru isoma o kogu fune no kaji toriaenu koi mo suru kana
Like a boat rowing among the rocks where white waves break, unable to keep hold of its oar, so is the love I bear, beyond my power to steer.
Gosen Wakashu - Ōtomo no Kuronushi
Koishisa wa nenu ni nagusamu to mo naki ni ayashiku awanu me o mo miru kana
Lying awake brings no comfort to my longing, yet strangely my eyes will not close in sleep, and I suffer the hardship of not meeting you.
Gosen Wakashu - Minamoto no Ukabu
Hisashiku mo koiwataru kana Suminoe no kishi ni toshi furu matsu naranaku ni
How long I have gone on loving you—though I am no pine grown old over the years on the shore of Suminoe.
Gosen Wakashu - Minamoto no Suguru